Sometimes the silliest things make for ongoing discussion at my house.

Pets .. we didn’t have any (well… I did a long time ago but married into allergies which caused me to have to part with a pair of much loved cats…) pets. Didn’t want any pets. Got enough to take care without having to manage a pet too. My mantra to the kids .. when you can show me that you are competent at managing things that are NOT alive (toys, dirty socks, etc…) we can think about a pet.

Well, on a very small scale that changed a couple months ago when son #3 came home with a couple guppies and a snail via the elementary school’s “Opportunity Day”.  I’m thinking .. okay, whatever. Guppies. Hmmm. Dead in a week, forgotten a couple days later.

That was early May. Today, on my kitchen counter, lives a small aquarium. The population of said aquarium is exactly one.  One (perhaps lonely but quite healthy) guppy.  So I was partially right.  But by golly, that one guppy is still hanging in there. Every day, same discussion in the house as to the remarkable longevity of this tiny fish.

So here’s the real deal. Guppies are not frail, they’re just little. They have (under the right conditions) a lifespan that averages about 12 months.  Because they are little, they don’t hold up well to anything that might make them ill, but in general are hardy little guys (and gals..).  Go figure .. I guess we’re pet owners now..